"No doubt about that!"
"Whoa, that's so cool brother!" the little girl eyes sparkled as she gazed at the boy that stood before her with his chin held high.
The boy continued to brag to his sister as they moved through the narrow alleyways.
They arrived at a secluded corner, the boy reached his hands into the darkness pushing aside the cardboard sheets to reveal a tiny space just big enough to fit them both. They squeezed inside, he took out the bread he had bought and divided it up for the both of them. The girl stared at the coarse bread reluctant to eat.
"What's wrong? Eat up, brother promises to buy you cake next time okay?" The boy noticed the unwillingness in the little girl's expression and coaxes her.
The girl nodded and finished the bread with great difficulty. Afterward, they gulped down some water and lay down on some cardboard sheets. The boy continued to tell his sister about how one day he would make sure she lived like a princess where no one would ever look down on her.
"In the future, big brother would build you a magnificent castle, with soft beds and lots of delicious food," He had a smug look, "I'll make sure you're never hungry again! Do you believe brother?"
The little girl stared at her brother, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Hmm! I believe brother!" She echoed proudly. The two drifted off to sleep midst chatter.
The next day, the two roamed the marketplace offering help to those who needed. Some were kind enough to gift them a copper coin, while others chased them away, mistaking them for thieves or treating them as beggars. All in all today was a good day, they managed to earn enough to buy two pieces of fried chicken and a decent sized loaf of soft white bread.
"See, big brother didn't lie to you." The boy held the food close to his sister's face, a triumphant look on his face.
The girl's gaze fixed on the bag swinging in front of her, drool pooling down as she muttered, "Big brother is amazing." She swallowed loudly, sniffing the wisps of fragrance that escaped.
"Heh, what have we here?" Suddenly the two heard a sneer from the shadows. They turned toward the sound and frowned when they saw who it was. The boy hugged the food closer to his chest and grabbed his sister's hand intending to run, but the alley's entrance was blocked by other thugs.
The moon hung high casting faint silvery glows on the figures. Four figures suddenly closed in on the two small figures punching and kicking. At first the siblings resisted but with time their strength was overdrawn, coupled with the fatigue accumulated during the day they eventually collapsed under the relentless assault.
"Peh, how troublesome." The leader spat and gave one final kick to the small boy curled up on the ground.
"Heheh, let's see what's in the bag, boss…oohh." The thugs eyes lit up when they uncovered the food that was carefully hidden inside the bag. "Tch, these kids got lucky today, even managing to buy meat."
"Unfortunately for them they run into us. Luckily for us we run into them."
The little girl opened her eyes, pain coursing through her body. She dragged herself forward through the dirt towards them clutching at the thug's leg. "Give it back… big brother bought it for me…" Her muffled words were desperate. She bit down hard, drawing blood.
"Huh? Is she crazy? Let go, lunatic—aaahh!" The thug screamed, kicking her away. She collapsed unconscious near the dumpster. He raised his foot to stomp her face, but before it could land, The boy's small body crashed into him, throwing him down.
"Don't touch my sister!" His fists rained down on the thugs face.
"Damn it get him off me!" The thug screamed to his comrades who were standing there with a dumb expression. By the time they reached him the boy on top had beaten him to a point of nonrecognition, so much so that his speech was incoherent. The three people approached the small boy on top of their leader.
Unbeknownst to any of them a dark figure stood in the shadows watching all that transpired. Just as the three approached the small figure he saw the boy turn his head and glare at them with eyes that held great resentment, he was taken aback by the amount of resentment held in those eyes. His lips curled up and in that moment he made his decision.
As the three people reached the small boy ready to grab him their movements suddenly froze, The boy didn't understand why, but he didn't waste time. He rushed to his sister, picked her up, and turned—only to see a figure clad in darkness.
"Who are you, what do you want?!" He demanded fiercely
"Haa~, you're a fiery little one aren't you?" The figure's voice came out icy cold and bone chilling. There was something about his voice that made the small boy's hairs stand on end but he still refused to back down.
The dark figure squinted his eyes, 'Intriguing.' "Do you want to become stronger? Strong enough to protect your sister? Strong enough that no one will ever look down on you?" The man's words were enticing. Looking down at their pitiful states.
The small boy was quiet observing the figure before him.
"I can make you strong." The man continued.
"How?"
The man smirked seeing that the boy was hooked, "All you need to do is become my child."
"Hah? Are you crazy? How can I become your child?" The boy's brow furrowed wondering if the man was just spouting nonsense.
The man was however unfazed by his outburst, "It's simple," the man pricked his thumb, drawing blood.. The boy watched wound closed instantly as if it had never been pricked. His eyes widened and he looked at the man's curled lips.
"What do you want me to do?" He asked his gaze determined.
"Swallow this." The man made the blood float towards the boy. The boy observed the drop of blood that floated towards him, after hesitating a little he opened his mouth and swallowed it. When he did, he felt a burst of pain that seemed to stem from the depths of his soul, he almost lost consciousness.
"Oops, did I forget to mention? It's going to hurt a bit." The man titled his head his face showing mock concern as he chuckled.
'Damn it! A bit my ass, this hurts like hell.' The boy gritted his teeth trying to endure it, muffled sounds escaping from his lips, then he saw the man squat in front of him. His features enlarged before him, the silver moonlight shone on his face revealing paleness beyond normality, his lips that was curled up stood out strikingly on his face with a deep red hue, his sharp brows made him appear even more stern. He was distracted by the man's looks and before he knew when, he didn't feel the pain that had been thrashing through him.
"Oho~ looks like it's over. You're stronger than I expected, brat." The man raised an eyebrow, "Let's see, what's your name?"
The boy looked at him, wondering what to say when he heard himself say, "Valmore." 'Huh? That's not my name.' He wondered why he had uttered that name. The man saw the surprise in his eyes and chuckled, "Don't worry that's your name etched to your soul, don't let it slip to your enemies as it's your weakness."
The man rose intending to leave. "Wait. My sister, what about her?"
"Huh? You want me to help your sister what will you give in exchange, brat?" The man scoffed looking at the boy.
"She's my sister so naturally she has to come along with me." The boy's showed no signs of compromise.
"Tch, how troublesome." The man glanced at the small girl behind the boy, surprised to see her awake, her eyes burning with resolve. 'When did she wake up? These kids…heh." He smirked.
"You also want to become strong? I must warn you it's painful than you think, your brother might've made it look less so…" He shrugged.
"I want to protect big brother!" Was the girl's answer.
"Well if you say so, I guess who am I to stop you, right?" With that he pricked himself drawing another drop of blood but this one was smaller in amount than the one he gave to the boy. "Wait why is hers smaller?" The boy asked.
"Dummy do you think a vampire's blood is water? You can draw it out whenever you want? Tch, ungrateful…besides she's too small."
When the little girl ingested the blood she passed out again. The boy carried her on his back and together with the vampire before them they disappeared.
When the thugs regained control of their bodies, the two were no where to be found, "Dammit where did they go?" They searched around but when they still couldn't find them fear gripped them and they carried their leader away escaping the alley.
Meanwhile over on the other side the boy and his sister along with the vampire arrived in front of a castle, "Welcome to your new home, be prepared to meet your other siblings, they can be grumpy."
They entered the castle and Valmore couldn't help but keep looking around until his gaze fell on five small figures staring at him with cold eyes. He froze in his steps feeling somewhat embarrassed.
He stood there not knowing what to do.
"Don't be so cold, meet your newest brother and sister. You're going to be living together from now on so go ahead and get along well. Goodbye." With that he left.
Valmore stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do until one of the kids approached and started chatting with him showing him around and escorting him to his room. He told him to feel free and relax. "The others are quite shy so don't worry about them too much. Rest well, we'll all meet tomorrow."
He left the room without staying too long. The closed behind him leaving the boy and the little girl alone in the huge room. Valmore laid his sister on the huge bed in the room and covered her with the sheets and examined the room before him, his eyes sparkling. This was where they were going to live from now on, he knew he had to be stronger if he wanted to be recognized.
"What do you think?"
"Not bad. They're okay, I guess."
"We'll see about that."
Downstairs, the children whispered among themselves after the newcomer's guide returned.